By June Evins

Washing beef tenderloin.

Family dinners have always been an integral part of my life. Since my brother, Sam Evins (‘22), left for college, and the place settings shrunk from four to three, I realize the nights of home-cooked meals with my Mom and Dad are dwindling as I count down the days towards graduation and my departure for college. 

When I was younger, family dinners used to be closer to the size of a Thanksgiving feast. My aunts, uncles, and cousins would join my immediate family weekly at my grandmother UhOh’s house in New Orleans to share a meal. 

This Easter, my family was fortunate to be able to reunite for an Easter Celebration in Pensacola Beach Florida. Having the family together again is a rare occasion, as we no longer all live in the same city. We gathered together over a delicious meal, shared stories, celebrated birthdays, and reminisce on memories. 

Preparing the tenderloin. 

For Easter dinner, I helped my Aunt Jennifer, Uncle Rob, and my cousins, Matt and Will, in the kitchen. We made tenderloin steak with roasted potatoes, while my Aunt Allison made her famous salad. The kitchen was filled with laughter and music, as my Uncle Rob tried to find a remix between Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” on SoundCloud that best reflected the new song that he had dreamed up in his head. There was chatter about what my cousin Will wanted to do the next day to celebrate his birthday. The cold, gloomy weather that seemed to last all day finally stopped as the sun poked its head out from behind the clouds, and suddenly light poured through the windows. For the first time that day, it finally felt like spring and Easter. 

The first step for the meal was preparing the steak. Uncle Rob shared that when buying a tenderloin from the butcher, “Never order it trimmed, because you lose half of the meat.”

Tenderloin gravy.

How to prepare a beef tenderloin:

1. Wash your tenderloin and pat dry.

Make sure to wash the entire tenderloin thoroughly to prevent cross-contamination of bacteria and other diseases. 

2. Remove excess fat and the chain (A muscle that runs along the tenderloin) .

You can do most of this by hand, except for the end of the chain, which needs to be cut. 

3. Remove the silver skin.

Using a knife, poke the tip under an edge and then cut the silver skin away, making sure to angle your knife up to refrain from wasting meat. 

4. Flip your tenderloin and trim the other side.

Beef tenderloin, ready to serve.

Cooking the tenderloin:

Start by roasting chopped onions in an oiled roasting pan. While the onions are roasting, marinate the tenderloin. 

We marinated our tenderloin with pepper, garlic salt, Kerrygold Irish butter slices over the meat, and Kitchen Bouquet browning sauce.

When the onions start to brown, caramelize, and become jammy, add the marinated tenderloin and cook it for 18 minutes at 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Then turn the oven off and let it sit for another 10 minutes in the oven, take it out, cover it with foil, and let it rest for a few minutes. Use a meat thermometer to check for the desired temperature.

Next, deglaze the pan with red wine and put fresh thyme sprigs on top. 

To serve, slice the meat thick and put it back in the pan juice. If it is too rare for anyone’s taste, heat it on the stove for a few minutes. 

Garlic roasted potatoes.

Garlic Roasted Potatoes: 

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (or you can cook at 500 for less time, if you are using a single oven).
2. Wash your Yukon gold potatoes or new potatoes (red or white work). 
3. Cut your potatoes into halves or quarters, depending on personal preference. 
4. Place the potatoes onto a sheet pan in an even layer. 
5. Coat the potatoes with olive oil, smashed garlic, garlic salt and pepper. (We also added fresh thyme to our potatoes, but you can add any herbs.) 
6. Roast in the oven for about 10 minutes until they are golden brown and crispy. 

This meal is great when you have 10-15 guests, and it will provide you with delicious leftovers! We finished it with a salad topped with my Aunt Alison’s garlic dressing.

The dinner plated.

 When sitting down to enjoy this meal with my family, I appreciated the gift of food and good company. The occasion brought back pleasant childhood memories of enjoying this same meal surrounded by the same people. There is something so special about gathering with the ones you love to break bread. 

Crawfish.

There is also something about helping to cook a meal. I always find when I cook a meal myself, or when I help prepare the dish, it tastes 10 times better, because you appreciate the work that went into the delicious food. This ended up being my favorite meal I ate on our Easter trip, despite the fact that the next day we ate crawfish and Cajun barbeque shrimp, which are two of my favorite meals.

Cajun BBQ shrimp.

Next time you have the opportunity, help cook for your family, or ask a relative if they can teach you how to make your favorite dish. I promise you will not regret it, and your family will appreciate it. 

All photos by June Evins.